Department for Transport

Railways: WiFi

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which train operators have installed or will install wifi in their trains, and by what date; and whether they intend to fund such installation separately from franchise arrangements.

Baroness Kramer: The following train franchises currently operate a Wi-Fi service on some of their trains. These Wi-Fi services have been funded through commercial, franchise and local arrangements: - Chiltern- Cross-country- East Anglia- East Coast- East Midlands- Great Western- Northern- South-Western- West Coast All franchised train operators will provide a free Wi-Fi service on trains across England and Wales through their franchises from 2017. The ready for service date of the Wi-Fi service in each franchise will vary depending on the negotiations for each franchise, some of which are ongoing or yet to commence. All future franchises will include funding for the Wi-Fi service within the funding arrangements for the franchises.

Road Traffic Offences: EU Nationals

Lord Balfe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent decision of the European Parliament relating to the tracking and punishment of European Union motorists who commit traffic offences in a member state where they are not resident.

Baroness Kramer: An analysis of the proposal can be found in the associated Explanatory Memorandum (EM) on the Cross Border Exchange of Information on Traffic Offences which was deposited in the House in August 2014. A copy of the EM is attached. It is also is available in the Libraries of the House and can also be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at:  http://europeanmemoranda.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/files/2014/08/12107-141.pdf  The Directive will enter into force at some point in March 2015.　 Once this occurs, a cross-Whitehall implementation group will be set up, chaired by the Department for Transport which will look at how best we can facilitate the requirements of the Directive into UK law.　 There will be opportunities to respond to consultation on any options produced.  



EM 12107_14
(PDF Document, 1.7 MB)

European Rail Traffic Management System

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that European Train Control System (ETCS) level 3 signalling will be installed successfully on the complete United Kingdom rail network within the 15 year timescale to which Network Rail is committed; when the European Commission issued the latest specification for this; and what consideration they have given to contingency plans to retain existing signalling if ETCS level 3 operation is delayed.

Baroness Kramer: The current national deployment plan for ETCS is based upon Level 2 technology and not Level 3. The European specifications for ETCS Level 3 are not yet fully complete. We await timescales from the European Commission on when the specifications for ETCS Level 3 will become available.

European Rail Traffic Management System

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence is available that European Train Control System level 3 signalling is successfully in use on a mixed traffic railway in other parts of Europe.

Baroness Kramer: I am aware that there is currently very little evidence of Level 3 of the European Traffic Management System (ERTMS) successfully deployed on a mixed traffic railway. For that reason it does not feature as a key aspect of the ERTMS deployment plans on the rail network.

Sierra Leone

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received any representations regarding the suspension of British Airways services to Freetown; whether they have made an assessment of the economic impact of that suspension for Sierra Leone; and what advice, if any, they have given British Airways on the matter.

Baroness Kramer: The government of Sierra Leone has made representations and enquiries regarding direct flights between the UK and Sierra Leone, including the British Airways decision to suspend services. The UK Government is not in a position to make an assessment of the economic impact of British Airways suspending its service to Freetown and has not been asked to give British Airways advice on what was a commercial decision. The Government’s subsequent decision not to permit direct scheduled air services between Sierra Leone and the UK as part of the Government’s overall strategy to mitigate the risk of Ebola entering the UK remains unchanged at this time.

East Coast Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Network Rail over plans to increase the maximum line speed on the East Coast Main Line to 140mph and the impact of such an increase on the business case for HS2 to Leeds and beyond.

Baroness Kramer: Network Rail has been asked to start to consider options for increasing line speeds on certain sections of the East Coast Main Line from the current maximum of 125mph to 140mph. This increased line speed could be utilised by the new Intercity Express trains, which are designed to operate at this higher speed, and depending upon the length of the sections involved could result in reductions to advertised journey times to key destinations. No analysis can be undertaken on the impact of this proposal upon other projects until the outcome of the initial work is known.

East Coast Railway Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the likely effect of increasing the line speed on the East Coast Main Line to 140mph on capacity to accommodate slower passenger or freight trains on that line.

Baroness Kramer: Network Rail has been asked to start to consider options for increasing line speeds on certain sections of the East Coast Main Line from the current maximum of 125mph to 140mph. This work will identify the impact of these potential changes, if any, upon all users of the line. Prior to the implementation of any such changes Network Rail will apply the standard rail industry ‘Network Change’ consultation process. This provides all relevant parties the opportunity to fully understand the details of the proposed changes, assess the impact of these changes upon their access rights and make appropriate representations.

Home Office

Human Trafficking

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve measures to curb human trafficking, in the light of a reported lack of information on the money trails in the anti-trafficking sector.

Lord Bates: We are determined to attack the profits of traffickers and slave drivers through greater use of asset recovery and financial investigation. Effective asset recovery is a critical tool in tackling modern slavery and wider organised crime, given that many perpetrators are motivated by financial gain.The Bill makes both modern slavery offences - slavery, servitude and forced labour and human trafficking - "criminal lifestyle" offences, making perpetrators subject to the most robust confiscation regime available under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). The Serious Crime Bill will also amend POCA to enable law enforcement agencies to seize criminal assets more quickly, close loopholes that criminals use to get round confiscation and crack down on those who try to avoid paying them.The Modern Slavery Strategy recognises that recovering more criminal assets is a key part of disrupting criminal activity, including those responsible for modern slavery offences. We are therefore working, as part of our work with partners across government, to improve asset recovery to ensure that all operational agencies are aware of the tools available for the recovery of assets, and use them effectively and in the right cases.

Extradition

Lord Hussain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals were extradited from the United Kingdom in each of the last two years; and for each year what were the nationalities of those individuals.

Lord Hussain: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals were extradited to the United Kingdom in each of the last two years; and for each year what were the nationalities of those individuals.

Lord Bates: The information is set out in the tables attached. Extradition to and from EU Member States is governed by the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). This is operated by the National Crime Agency, who have provided the separate figures for EAWs. Extradition to and from other territories is dealt with by the Home Office.The figures apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scotland deals with its own extradition cases. 



HL5190 HL5191 Table
(Word Document, 211 KB)

Off-licences

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many off-licensed premises (including supermarkets) there were in England and Wales in 2013 and 2014.

Lord Bates: The following table shows the number of premises licenses authorised to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises only (includes supermarkets) and the number of premises licenses and club premises certificates authorised to sell alcohol for consumption both on and off the premises. The figures cover the year to 31 March 2013 and 31 March 2014 for England and Wales. These figures are published in the data tables (table 2) of the 31 March 2014 ‘Alcohol and late night refreshment licensing’ statistical release at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/alcohol-and-late-night-refreshment-licensing-england-and-wales-31-march-2014-data-tables. 



HL5267 Table
(Word Document, 40 KB)

Mohammed Emwazi

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Mohammed Emwazi is a British citizen; if so, when he was granted British nationality; if not, whether he has leave to enter and to remain indefinitely in the United Kingdom; and whether his current immigration and nationality status will be reviewed.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.

Islamic State

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the threat to the personal safety of British citizens from ISIL.

Lord Bates: The threat level from international terrorism for the UK, which is set independently by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, is currently assessed as SEVERE. This means that an attack is highly likely. The threat from terrorist groups such as ISIL is an important component of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s advice to British citizens travelling overseas.The Government recognises that ISIL poses a significant threat to the UK and its interests. In September 2014 the Prime Minister announced a wide range of actions to combat ISIL, and in November 2014 he confirmed that an additional £130 million will be made available over the next two years to counter terrorism. The new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, which came into force in February, provides further powers and capabilities to help tackle the threats emanating from Syria and Iraq.

Russia

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the threat to the personal safety of British citizens from Russia.

Lord Bates: The Government keeps threats to our national security, including the safety and security of British citizens, under close review. Where there is a credible threat, the police and the intelligence agencies will take appropriate steps to manage that threat. British travellers to Russia should check the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Travel Advice for current guidance available at:www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia

Terrorism

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of potentially violent jihadists living in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: It is a long standing UK Government policy not to comment on any intelligence matters or alleged activities conducted by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This includes any action taken to protect the UK from terrorist plots or planned attacks. Observing this principle is vital to the protection of national security and the prevention of crime. The Security and Intelligence Agencies work tirelessly to protect the British public from terrorism. People who commit, plan and support acts of terror in the UK will be prosecuted by the UK authorities.

Entry Clearances: Ukraine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have considered providing a visa-free regime for short-term visits by Ukrainian citizens.

Lord Bates: We have no plans to change the visa requirement for Ukrainian nationals.We keep our visa regimes under regular review. A number of factors are taken into account when reviewing regimes. These include the immigration, crime and security risks posed by a nationality.

Missing Persons: United Arab Emirates

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Serious Fraud Office passed five files on Mr Abbas Yazdi, a British citizen, to Iranian government services between 2008 and 2013.

Lord Bates: Requests for mutual legal assistance (MLA) may be referred by the Home Office, under section 15(2) of the Crime (International Cooperation) Act 2003, to the Serious Fraud Office for execution.It is the usual policy neither to confirm nor deny the existence, content or status of any individual MLA requests.

Immigration: Married People

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances a spouse of a United Kingdom citizen who is not a European Union citizen can take up residence with their partner in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: The Government reformed the basis for family migration to the UK in July 2012, to prevent burdens on the taxpayer, promote integration and tackle abuse. The non-European Economic Area national spouse or partner of a British citizen can now join or remain with their sponsor here if they meet the relevant requirements of Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules. These include a financial requirement which generally means the sponsor must meet a minimum income threshold of £18,600 a year, and a requirement that the applicant can speak basic English.The Appendix FM to the Immigration Rules is attached to my reply. 



Appendix FM
(PDF Document, 216.56 KB)

Asylum: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Northern Ireland has been included as a destination for asylum seeker dispersal; whether the National Asylum Support Service has undertaken research on the question of identifying Northern Ireland as a suitable area for dispersal; and, if so, what were the conclusions.

Lord Bates: Northern Ireland is not a designated dispersal area and UK Visas and Immigration has not undertaken any research into whether it could become one.

Sexual Offences

Lord Morrow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many sex offenders are currently being managed in the community, broken down by police force in England and Wales.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not collate figures on the number of sex offenders being managed in the community. However, registered sex offenders are managed throughMulti-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and figures are contained in the annual MAPPA report, published by the Ministry of Justice on the Gov.uk website. The latest report covering the period from April 2013 to March 2014 is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/multi-agency-public-protection-arrangements-mappa-annual-report-2013-14.

Detention Centres

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what qualifications and quality standards are required of contractors' staff in contact with detainees at Yarl's Wood and other detention centres.

Lord Bates: People undertaking custodial functions in immigration removal centres must be certified by the Secretary of State as Detainee Custody Officers (DCO) or, in the case of prison officers undertaking such duties, have the functions of DCOs conferred on them by the Secretary of State.Under section 154 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 the Secretary of State may not issue a certificate of authorisation to perform the functions of a DCO unless she is satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person to perform those functions and has received training to such standard as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for the performance of those functions.Detention Service Order 10/2014 sets out the requirements for DCO certification which contains requirements including: nationality and employment requirements, prohibitions on membership or affiliation with particular organisations, satisfactory completion of an initial training course and training on the work of immigration enforcement.DCOs will not be issued with a certificate to work unless they have also passed all preliminary security checks, have no convictions and completed all declarations, including the Official Secrets Act.For prison officers working at The Verne, Dover, Haslar and Morton Hall the National Offender Management Service is responsible for ensuring that all prison officer grades are appropriately cleared, trained and authorised to carry out their functions.Evidence of the qualifications and quality standards to be met must be provided to the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement Certification Team).

Detention Centres

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training is provided to contractors' staff at Yarl's Wood and elsewhere; how long such training lasts; and whether it is provided before or during their deployment at Yarl's Wood.

Lord Bates: Requirements for training under different contracts for Detainee Custody Officers (DCOs) in immigration removal centres (IRCs) will vary in their detail but service providers are required by their contract to provide an initial training programme that contains a number of elements including: Interpersonal skills First aid training to approved standards Race relations and cultural awarenessManaging the stress and anxiety of detainees and of service providers' staff Identification of and procedures for dealing with vulnerable detainees Security procedures and practice Control and restraint training accredited by the National Offender Management Service Assessment Care in Detention and Teamwork (prevention of self harm)While there are no specific requirements for the duration of training courses in the contracts for IRCs these are generally between 6 and 8 weeks. For Yarl’s Wood, Serco has advised that their initial training course is 7 weeks long. DCOs cannot be deployed at any centre unless they have successfully completed their initial training course.For prison officers working at The Verne, Dover, Haslar and Morton Hall the National Offender Management Service is responsible for ensuring that all prison officer grades are appropriately cleared, trained and authorised to carry out their functions.

Yarl's Wood Detention Centre

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether proposed body cameras at Yarl's Wood detention centre will record speech as well as movement.

Lord Bates: Yes. Serco has undertaken to provide the Home Office with an implementation plan by March 2015.

Asylum: Finance

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made on their commitment to provide extra assistance to Azure Card users undertaking necessary travel.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 20 November 2014 (HL Deb, cols 545–67), what further information has been provided to individuals for support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 on how to apply for extra assistance, and in which languages.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts have been made to make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to sign up to the Azure Card scheme; and how many small and medium-sized enterprises have applied to join in the last year for which records are available.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, as section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is intended to promote a form of temporary support, Azure Card users can be returned to provision under section 95 for cash support after a period of one year.

Lord Bates: It is not currently possible to purchase travel tickets with the Azure card for practical reasons. Accommodation is provided within walking distance of shops and other services and tickets are provided for essential medical appointments.Information and guidance about travel assistance is published on the GOV.UK website and it is widely known about by the voluntary sector organisations that assist Azure card users, including Migrant Help, which is funded by the Home Office to provide an advice service. Additionally, a mailshot sent out in the week commencing 16 February 2015 provided a reminder to all card users of where to find information on applying for additional assistance.Any retail outlet that provides food and other essential living items and accepts visa transactions can apply to join the Azure card scheme. The card is currently accepted by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, the Co-operative, Iceland, Boots, Mothercare, The British Red Cross, The Salvation Army and a few small independent retailers.Support is provided in some circumstances to failed asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. This is generally because there is a temporary legal or practical obstacle to their departure, for example because the person is too sick to travel or needs time to apply for the necessary travel document. The Government currently has no plans to change this provision.

Detention Centres: LGBT People

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what urgent action they will take to include reference in enforcement instructions and guidance to the assessment of risks relating to detaining lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals in immigration detention centres.

Lord Bates: When a decision has been taken to detain someone who has no right to be in the UK, the Home Office has specific procedures in place in detention centres to identify those who may be vulnerable and require extra support, which could include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people. Additionally the Home Secretary recently announced an independent review of welfare in detention led by Stephen Shaw CBE. This review, which is expected to report within 6 months, will focus on vulnerable detainees. Once the review has made its recommendations the Home Office will consider what changes to guidance are required.

Detention Centres: Females

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the treatment of detainees in Yarl's Wood revealed by Channel Four and by Women for Refugee Women, what is their response to the recommendation of the All-Party Inquiry into the Use of Immigration Detention that "women who are victims of rape and sexual violence should not be detained" and that such women should be added to the Home Office list of "groups of people who should not be detained as it is unsuitable".

Lord Bates: Published Home Office detention policy as set out in chapter 55.10 of the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance specifies several categories of detainee who are normally considered suitable for detention only in very exceptional circumstances.This list includes individuals for whom there is independent evidence of torture, which would encompass women who had suffered rape or other forms of sexual violence as an instrument of torture, as well as individuals who have been identified by the competent authorities as victims of trafficking.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

El Salvador

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in El Salvador.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We welcome progress on human rights in El Salvador, as set out in its 2014 Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review. However, it is vital that this progress continues, in particular, in the areas of reproductive rights and universal access to justice.

Argentina

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Argentina.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We share the view of the UN Human Rights Council that Argentina is not a human rights country of concern. We take note of recent assessments of Argentina’s human rights record by Human Rights Watch (World Report 2015) and Amnesty International (2014/15 International Report), which acknowledge progress in some areas such as Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgende rights, but urge improvements in others, for example the rights of women and indigenous peoples. Human Rights Watch also reported ongoing concerns about threats to freedom of expression. We will follow developments in these areas closely

Bolivia

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Bolivia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We welcome the progress made by the Plurinational State of Bolivia in ratifying key international human rights treaties and recognise the continued emphasis given by the Government of Bolivia to addressing poverty, discrimination and inequality.However, as the Government of Bolivia publicly acknowledges, there remains a need to improve access to justice and citizen security. We are also concerned that laws enacted to address violence against women should be fully implemented.Our Embassy in La Paz is working with the government of Bolivia to help improve the human rights situation. The main focus of the Embassy’s work has been on the introduction of community policing, prison reform and work to support the rights of minority groups such as those with disabilities, as well as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.

Haiti

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Haiti.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: Haiti is a developing country facing many complex challenges. It is slowly recovering from decades of misrule, as well as recent natural disasters and outbreaks of disease. The human rights situation is mixed. Challenges remain, particularly in relation to access to justice, prison conditions, impunity, domestic violence, and children’s rights.

Paraguay

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in Paraguay.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: In Paraguay, basic human rights as well as political and civic liberties such as the freedom of expression and assembly are normally respected. Free and fair elections are being held. The law and constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government respect these rights. Individuals have criticised the government publicly and privately, generally without reprisal or impediment. We are pleased that Paraguay has been elected as member of the UN Council of Human Rights for the period 2015-2017 and are working closely with them. However, despite good progress on a range of human rights issues, we would welcome improvements in a number of areas, including on: access to a fair trial; investigation of crimes; impunity; and a law against all forms of discrimination. We continue to raise a range of human rights issues with the Paraguayan government on a regular basis.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest assessment of the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country of concern in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Report 2013. We are reviewing its inclusion in the 2014 Report.We are concerned by continued human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict in the eastern DRC. Armed rebel groups commit summary executions and rapes, and are responsible for the forced recruitment of children. The Congolese army and police have also been accused of human rights violations, including killings, rapes and ill treatment of detainees. We believe that the best way to improve the human rights situation in the DRC is through continued work to stabilise the region, reduce conflict and ensure that there is no culture of impunity in the aftermath of conflict.We are working with the Government of the DRC to ensure that the rule of law is implemented fully and that there is no impunity for human rights abusers.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in regard to recent protests in Kinshasa and in the eastern provinces of that country.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 23 February to the noble Lord Chidgey (HL4967).Officials continue to raise the ongoing detention of protestors with senior members of the Congolese government.

Surveillance

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 20 February (HL4795), whether there have been any instances where such surveillance equipment has been used by any foreign government to monitor opposition parties.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Government does not disclose the detail of operational cooperation with foreign partners

Bangladesh

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will propose to the United Nations Secretary-General that he suggest to the government and opposition in Bangladesh that they should invite him to appoint a mediator acceptable to both sides to help them reach an agreement that would put an end to the violence in Bangladesh and reach a political solution to their differences.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We welcome the news that the United Nations Secretary General has written to Prime Minister Hasina and the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and we continue to encourage the UN to maintain their engagement in Bangladesh. It is important that the political parties do all they can to build confidence with each other, put an end to the violence and defuse the tension across the country.

Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur in fulfilling its mandate and facilitating humanitarian access.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We continue to believe that the UN African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has an important role to play in the protection of civilians in Darfur. The Secretary-General’s most recent report on UNAMID noted some improvements in humanitarian access, but stated that the overall situation remained problematic. For that reason, we strongly supported the 2014 Strategic Review of the mission and look forward to the upcoming report on its implementation.

Bangladesh

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Bangladesh about their obligations under Article 18 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights following the reported murder by unidentified assailants in Dhaka of Avijit Roy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We take human rights very seriously, raising concerns with the Government of Bangladesh when there are credible allegations. We ask that all incidents are investigated promptly, transparently and impartially. At Bangladesh’s 2nd Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council on 29 April 2013 the UK called on the Government of Bangladesh to do more to protect vulnerable groups. Our High Commissioner in Dhaka expressed the UK’s horror at the murder of US resident Abvijit Roy and the serious injury to his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya as well as at all the violence that has taken place in Bangladesh in recent months.

Iraq

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that Isis has destroyed and burnt ancient books and manuscripts in Mosul.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government is aware of reports that the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has destroyed and burnt ancient books and manuscripts in northern Iraq. Whilst we are not in a position to confirm those reports we utterly condemn all acts of vandalism against Iraq’s history and culture. The UK supported the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2199 which condemns the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria, including the targeted destruction of religious sites and objects.

Ukraine

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 24 February (HL4787) concerning arms to Ukraine, whether the armoured vehicles being supplied to Ukraine are capable of being armed with lethal weapons; and, if so, whether they have sought assurances from the government of Ukraine that it will not convert those vehicles for armed conflict.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence have purchased 75 Saxon armoured vehicles through a private commercial contract. The vehicles are unarmed with no offensive capability. Our Embassy in Kyiv are seeking confirmation from the Ukrainian authorities about whether they have plans to retrofit the vehicles but any subsequent decision to convert the vehicles is a matter for the Ukrainian government.

Iran

The Earl of Listowel: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran to end the use there of capital punishment on children.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, especially in the case of minors. We have made our position clear to the Iranian government, both privately and in public. During our submission to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of Iran’s human rights record on 31 October 2014, the Government recommended that Iran put an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty for minors.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Regional Planning and Development: North East

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding they provided to One North East in each of the five financial years between April 2005 and April 2010; and how much has been provided via the Regional Growth Fund for the North-East region since May 2010.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The revenue of the One North East Regional Development Agency are published in the Agency’s annual report and accounts. Since 2010 in the North East, the Regional Growth Fund has made 94 awards worth £320 million. This is expected to leverage £2.1 billion of private investment.

Companies: Pay

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to requiring all listed companies to report annually on the ratio between the pay of chief executives and the median pay of workers in that company.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government introduced new laws comprehensively reforming the governance and reporting of company directors’ pay in October 2013. Quoted companies are now required to report the ratio of average percentage change in employee pay compared with the percentage change in the chief executive’s pay.   The Government consulted extensively on the details of the new requirements, and decided not to mandate publication of the ratio between the chief executive’s pay and average employee’s pay.   The Government welcomes transparency on remuneration, but believes that an explicit focus on this ratio could have negative unintended consequences. For example, it could incentivise companies to outsource jobs to agencies or overseas, or to employ more of the workforce on a part-time basis, in order to manipulate ratios.

Business Premises: Access

Lord Tope: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what incentives or financial assistance are available to small business to help make their premises more accessible to all users.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Equality Act 2010 includes a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments for their staff. Guidance on compliance with the Equality Act is available at https://www.gov.uk/equality-act-2010-guidance.   Small businesses may wish to seek advice from their Local Authorities about possible financial assistance available in their local area. Some local areas have also established growth hubs which bring together public and private sector partners to promote, co-ordinate and deliver business support. The national Business Support Helpline (0300 456 3565) can direct businesses to the right local contact, and also provides advice and support on a wide range of issues.

Solar Power

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees installers are obliged to give that they will correctly and completely dispose of solar panels at the end of their working lives; and who has to pay the cost of disposal.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Since 1st January 2014, the 2013 Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations require producers of photo-voltaic (PV) panels to take on the financial obligations arising from the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of PV panels when they become waste, irrespective of when they were placed on the market.   The WEEE regulations also place obligations on distributors selling PV panels to private households to have a procedure in place to take back PV waste or, alternatively, they must pay into a Government-approved Distributor Take-back Scheme (DTS), which provides funding to local authority household recycling centres.   Separate rules also apply to ensure PV panels supplied to business end-users are properly treated when they become waste. Treatment of all WEEE, including PV panels, must be undertaken in line with best available treatment, recovery and recycling techniques to ensure that it is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

Trade Agreements: Ukraine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their view on Ukraine having free-trade agreements with both the European Union and Russia.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: We are a not opposed to Ukraine having a free trade agreement with the Russian Federation if it wishes to do so. An Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union has been signed and ratified by both the Ukrainian and European parliaments. The Association Agreement establishes a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which is due to come into force from 1st January 2016. Under the terms of the DCFTA, 98.1% of the value Ukrainian exports to the EU will become tariff-free. Additionally, Ukraine is required to take steps to modernise its trade relations by undertaking certain economic reforms and aligning a number of its industrial regulations and standards with those of the European Union. Ukraine is also a signatory to the Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA). Established in October 2011, this is a free trade area between Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Ukraine. The EU-Ukraine DCFTA does not stop Ukraine from remaining within this free trade area. Separately from the CISFTA, Russia has established the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with a number of its neighbours. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Russia are currently members. The EEU unifies its members’ import tariffs, customs regimes and a number of industrial regulations and standards. Therefore it is not possible for Ukraine to be a party, simultaneously, to both the EU-Ukraine DCFTA, which eliminates tariffs on most goods to and from the EU, and the EEU, which would require Ukraine to apply the same tariff rates as applied by Russia and the other EEU members. However, this does not prevent Ukraine from maintaining or entering into free trade agreements with other countries or blocs, including the EEU; it leaves Ukraine free to determine its own trade policy.

Department for International Development

Sierra Leone

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 11 February (HL4569), about medical relief operations in Sierra Leone, what efforts they are making to co-ordinate their activities with those of the government of Israel which is providing mobile clinics and medical expertise to help combat ebola infections.

Baroness Northover: The UK is leading the international response to the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone. We have built 6 Emergency Treatment Centres staffed by British and international healthcare workers, are supporting more than half of all the treatment and isolation beds available for Ebola patients, trained 4000 frontline health care staff, and provided three new laboratories to test one third of all samples collected nationally.   Israel has donated $8.75 million to the UN’s Ebola Response Multi Partner Trust Fund. The UK is also represented here and coordinates closely with other donors on priorities for the Fund.

Palestinians

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in Gaza with regard to (1) rehousing displaced families, (2) bringing water, sanitation and food assistance to the inhabitants, and (3) applying international law to end the blockade.

Baroness Northover: More than 100,000 people were left homeless by the conflict, and around 10,000 of those are still sheltering in UN schools. The Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism, which the UK is supporting, has so far enabled over 52,000 people to buy materials to repair their homes. As part of our long term assistance for Gaza, the UK supports partners like the World Food Programme, the UN Works and Relief Agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross who help deal with food shortages, provide basic services and repair water infrastructure in Gaza. UK aid is saving lives, but it is clear the need for a political solution for Gaza is more urgent than ever. The UK, along with EU partners, continues to call on Israel to improve movement and access into and out of Gaza.

Sierra Leone

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of ebola on the economy of Sierra Leone and its implication for the share of the United Kingdom Official Development Assistance that country will receive in the current, and next, financial year.

Baroness Northover: The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone occurred alongside a steep fall in iron ore prices and these two crises together prompted a sharp drop in Sierra Leone’s economic activity. All of Sierra Leone’s economic sectors have been affected by these crises, including agriculture upon which more than 60% of the population depend for their livelihoods.   So far the UK has committed £325 million to eradicating the disease in Sierra Leone and the UK priority is to get to zero cases as soon as possible and prevent any new outbreaks in Sierra Leone. However, in parallel the UK is working with the Government of Sierra Leone on longer term economic recovery.

Ukraine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide humanitarian aid for the care and resettlement of displaced people in Ukraine.

Baroness Northover: In response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine the UK Government has committed £16.4 million of bilateral humanitarian support in Ukraine. In addition, the UK’s share of multilateral contributions through the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) stands at £4.35m.

Department for Education

Travellers: Education

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Nash on 6 May 2014 (WA 346), whether the new web portal to improve access to 16–18 performance data has been developed; and what data they expect it to yield on the experience of Gypsy, Traveller and Roma young people.

Lord Nash: The School Performance Web Portal as alluded to in the Written Answer on 6 May 2014 (WA 346) has not yet been developed. The programme to develop it in the way envisaged at the time was discontinued in August 2014. It had become apparent that the programme was going to experience some delays to delivery and with a significant IT transformation programme taking place within the Department, and other changes across Government, it was clear that it was not the right time to progress with this work.   The Department for Education remains committed to the objective of improving access to performance data. We are currently conducting small scale research with groups of parents, school leaders, governors and Department for Education officials. This is to ensure any future web presence for performance data meets both the priorities of the Department and the needs of users.

Academies: Headteachers

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the numbers of head teachers leaving academies in 2014, and of the reasons for this.

Lord Nash: The Department for Education does not appoint headteachers directly and has not made an assessment of the number of headteachers leaving academies in 2014, or of the reasons for this.   In November 2013, the headteacher vacancy rates in primary and secondary academies in England were 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. Information about 2014 headteacher vacancy rates was collected as part of the November 2014 School Workforce Census and will be published in July 2015.

Headteachers: Qualifications

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the requirement in Scotland for head teachers to take a master's qualification; and whether they plan to implement this requirement in England.

Lord Nash: Excellent school leadership, together with high-quality teaching and learning, is key to the Government’s plan for education. Professional development for school leaders, to support and develop excellent leadership, is therefore very important to this Government.   The National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) has existed for over a decade in England. This qualification helps school leaders close to headship to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence valuable for headship. All the NPQH materials are written and delivered at master’s level and carry Credit Accumulation and Transfer (CAT) Scheme points towards a full master’s degree. Headteachers are not required to undertake NPQH. There are no current plans to make it a mandatory qualification.   In the response to the ‘workload challenge’, the Government committed to a review of the current provision of leadership training and development opportunities for school leaders, including the current coaching and mentoring offer.

Ministry of Justice

Civil Proceedings: Fees and Charges

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with regard to increasing fees in the civil court, what attempts were made (1) prior to 1 April 2013, and (2) after 1 April 2013, to measure the impact of the plans.

Lord Faulks: Both before and after 1 April 2013 the Ministry of Justice used, and continues to use, HMCTS management information to measure court fee income including court fee remissions. Impact assessments have been and will be published to accompany proposed court fee reforms.

Prisons: Libraries

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what budget has been allocated for the provision of libraries in prisons in England and Wales as (1) a total, and (2) a proportion of the overall prison service budget, in each of the last three years.

Lord Faulks: The Prison Service has always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners. Every prison has a library, which is available to all prisoners to ensure they have access to books and other material for education and training purposes. The table below shows the total allocated budget for prison library services for financial years 2011-12 to 2013-14 and the proportion in percentage terms of the direct expenditure on public sector prisons for the same periods. Allocated budget for library servicesPercentage of Direct prison expenditure £m%2013-147.9940.48%2012-138.2090.46%2011-127.9920.43% Notes: 1. The figures show the amount allocated by NOMS to prison establishments for library services. The amount spent by the prisons may have been slightly different. 2. For most private sector prisons the library budget figures are not included as the allocation is subsumed within the main contract. For this reason public sector prisons’ direct expenditure (as provided in the annual prison costs’ publication) has been used as the comparator.

Prisons: Libraries

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many different titles have been stocked by libraries in each of the prison establishments in England and Wales over the past three years.

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many new titles have been purchased by libraries in each prison establishment in England and Wales in each of the past three years.

Lord Faulks: Prison libraries play a positive role in supporting rehabilitation and resettlement through offering a range of resources and activities, including literacy and reader development work. However, information about the number of different titles stocked, and new titles purchased, by prison libraries is not held centrally and would need to be collated through enquiries at every prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence

Cold War: Medals

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider establishing a decoration or medal for distinguished service by military or intelligence personnel who took part in active service in the Cold War between 1951 and 1990.

Lord Astor of Hever: It is clear that the professionalism and resolve of British and NATO forces during the Cold War years was an important factor that contributed to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact military alliance. However, it is widely recognised that this was achieved without recourse to the type of military activity for which campaign medals are generally instituted and there are no plans to introduce such an award. However, individual meritorious service or acts of bravery could be recognised through the usual UK State Honours system.Many people leave the British Armed Forces without having been eligible for a campaign service medal. This position does not lessen our appreciation for the courage shown and sacrifices made by all our brave personnel during their Service.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Rented Housing

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each of the last five years, whether the number of units of social housing in the United Kingdom has increased or decreased; how many units have been sold to foreign buyers; and whether the funds received by the sale of social housing are being used to build new social housing.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The numbers of social dwelling stock in the United Kingdom in the five years to 2012 (the most recent date for which UK figures are available) are as follows: 2007 4,886,000 2008 4,867,000 2009 4,886,000 2010 4,907,000 2011 4,924,000 2012 4,935,000 In England, council house building starts are now at a 23 year high and almost twice as many council homes have been built in the last 4 years than from 1997 to 2009. Previously, councils were not encouraged to build new homes from sales receipts and only 1 new council home was built for every 170 Right to Buy sales completed under the last Administration. Since the Right to Buy was reinvigorated in England, £730 million in sales receipts are being re-invested in affordable house building; levering a further £1.7 billion of investment over the next 2 years. This means that in total, over £2.4 billion will be raised to invest in affordable house building as a result of the as a result of Right to Buy. The Right to Buy is only available to social tenants with at least five years’ tenancy. The purchaser must be a secure tenant and the property must be the resident’s only or main home. Prior to that, the social tenant would also have to have been eligible for social housing in the first place, and resided for long enough to move up to the top of any waiting list. In that context, an overseas buyer would simply not be eligible. The Government has taken steps to support members of the Armed Forces get onto the housing ladder – this would include supporting those who may have been resident overseas during their term of service. We have also changed statutory guidance to give priority to those with local connections and local residency in the allocation of social housing.

Council Tax Benefits

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 November 2014 (HL2301), whether they will now publish the detailed terms of reference for the review of the impact of abolishing Council Tax Benefit.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Department is currently working with the Council Tax Partnership Forum and local authorities to identify appropriate and proportionate data for the independent three-year review of the local council tax support policy.   The timetable, coverage, process for data collection and detailed terms of reference for the review will be agreed and published in due course.   Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year – equivalent to almost £180 per year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration.   Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work. We are ending the last Administration’s “something for nothing” cultures and making work pay.

Local Government Finance

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement on 3 February by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (HLWS223), whether they will provide a breakdown by local authority of the additional £74 million for local welfare, health and social care in the 2015–16 local government settlement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In December 2014, the Government identified £129.6 million within upper-tier local authority budgets for local welfare provision funding. The additional £74 million to assist with dealing with wider pressures on local welfare and health and social care has been distributed to upper-tier local authorities in line with their settlement funding assessment formula. A breakdown of the figures is set out within the attached table. 



Local Gov Settlement 2015-16
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27.09 KB)

Local Government: Debt Collection

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have announced plans to establish in house bailiff teams to recover outstanding Council Tax and other debt; and whether they will issue guidance to local authorities on such an approach.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Collection and enforcement is a matter for local authorities, who are best placed to decide on the appropriate way to manage their collection and debt recovery operations.  In our Department for Communities and Local Government’s best practice document, “50 ways to save”, we listed improving council tax collection rates and reducing arrears as a key way of making sensible savings to help keep overall council tax bills down and protect frontline services. Every penny of council tax that is not collected means a higher council tax for the law-abiding citizen who does pay on time.  It is important that councils are sympathetic to those in genuine hardship, are proportionate in enforcement and do not overuse bailiffs (we have published guidance for councils to stop unjustified, aggressive collection practices; this guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/goverment/publications/council-tax). However, these figures show that there is a significant potential source of income for councils, which councils across the country could use to support frontline service or freeze council tax bills next year.

Homelessness

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those local authorities currently breaching the maximum six-week limit on the placement of homeless families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation established by the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 are prevented from doing so.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government has been clear that the long term use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children is both unacceptable and unlawful. The law is very clear on this matter. It says that bed and breakfast accommodation should only ever be used to house homeless families in an emergency, and then for no longer than six weeks. Further legal protections also give households the right to challenge an authority’s use of this accommodation. Under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996, households have the right to challenge an authority’s decision to place them in such accommodation for longer than six weeks. Statutory homelessness guidance which local housing authorities must, by law, have regard to says that when using bed and breakfast accommodation the authority should notify the family of the effect of the law. In particular, that it is unlawful for the authority to continue to secure bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children any longer than six weeks.   Recent figures show a significant reduction (38 per cent on the same quarter as last year) in the numbers of families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks. We have kept up the pressure on this issue. Actions included housing Ministers writing to those authorities with the highest numbers in bed and breakfast accommodation, challenging them to take action and calling them in to hear their plans to reduce the numbers. We invested almost £2 million to support local authorities to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to prevent unlawful bed and breakfast use for families with children. The seven funded authorities have achieved and sustained 96% average reduction in the number of households with children in bed and breakfast for longer than six weeks. Lessons learned from this funding have been used to develop a comprehensive training package to help those authorities who were not funded to develop the same successful approaches.   This investment comes on top of over £500 million this Government has provided to prevent and tackle homelessness. Homelessness acceptances remain lower than in 27 of the last 30 years, and homelessness is around half the average level it was under the previous Government. Households now spend on average seven months less in temporary accommodation than at the start of 2010.

Homelessness

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the way in which local authorities collect data on homelessness, so as to better account for the spectrum of ways in which homelessness is manifested.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated Statutory Homelessness statistics as National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Designation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the statistics: • meet identified user needs; • are well explained and readily accessible; • are produced according to sound methods; and • are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest. My hon Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Kris Hopkins) wrote to the United Kingdom Statistics Authority on 30 January 2014 inviting further assessment of the Department’s statistics, and in response to his request the Authority has committed to assessing the Department's other statistics on homelessness covering homelessness prevention and relief, and rough sleeping. This Government has increased spending to prevent homelessness, making over £500 million available to help the most vulnerable in society and has kept strong protections to guard families against the threat of homelessness. Every person has the right to approach their local authority if they consider themselves homeless or at risk, and local authorities have a statutory duty to secure accommodation to all those who they decide are eligible, in priority need and not intentionally homeless, and will be counted as homeless. Any local authority who is approached by someone they have reason to believe is homeless or threatened with homelessness must make inquiries to see whether they owe them any duty under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996. This assessment process is important in enabling housing authorities to identify the assistance which an applicant may need either to prevent them from becoming homeless or to help them to find another home. Under section 179, authorities also have a duty to ensure that advice and information about homelessness and the prevention of homelessness are available free of charge to anyone in their district.

HM Treasury

Welfare Tax Credits

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total sum of administrative penalties applied to tax credit claimants following overpayments in each of the past four years.

Lord Deighton: The following table outlines the sum of penalties applied to tax credits claimants in each of the past four years.   Penalties applied in periodSum of civil penalties applied2013-14£28,181,587.502012-13£13,128,383.002011-12£4,599,135.862010-11£1,196,988.00 An integral part of the tax credits error and fraud strategy was to ensure that claimants who negligently or deliberately sought to mislead HMRC about their circumstances would be dealt with appropriately. This led to a review of the penalty regime, which resulted in a large scale levying of penalties. This was consistent with the principles contained in the Welfare Reform Act 2012, in particular with the approach to issue tougher penalties for the most serious offences.

Taxation: Domicil

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many United Kingdom residents have advised HM Revenue and Customs that they are non-domiciled in the United Kingdom for tax purposes; and how many more United Kingdom residents HM Revenue and Customs estimate are benefiting from non-domiciled status without advising HM Revenue and Customs.

Lord Deighton: In 2012-13 (the latest tax year for which information is available), there were 115,000 UK residents who were non-domiciled for tax purposes within the self-assessment system.   The information regarding the number of UK residents that are benefitting from non-domiciled status without advising HMRC is unavailable. Taxpayers are required to declare their non-domiciled status if that status is relevant to their UK tax liabilities.

Financial Markets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the revision to the European Union Markets in Financial Instruments Directive to cut the maximum allowable delay for reporting large equity trades from three days to the end of each trading day; and whether they will also introduce requirements to ensure that brokers and asset managers do not pass on costs for their errors to pension funds.

Lord Deighton: The regulatory technical standards under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II will set the details of the post-trade transparency rules, including the allowable length of delay for reporting trades. These technical standards have not yet been adopted and are currently being consulted on by the European Securities and Markets Authority.   The Financial Conduct Authority has described examples of good practice under conflicts of interest rules covering the allocation of the costs of trading errors between firms and their customers.

Financial Markets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they receive any regular reports about, or have been alerted to increasing problems with, high frequency trading firms using abusive techniques to profit at the expense of others.

Lord Deighton: The Government takes allegations of market abuse very seriously. High frequency trading firms are authorised and supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and it is the responsibility of the FCA to investigate allegations of misconduct.

Financial Markets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether in preparing for the revised European Union Market Abuse Directive and Market Abuse Regulation they have compiled any evidence of increasing reports of insider dealing and market manipulation; and whether Ministers have received any requests from regulatory authorities for extra resources or powers to address such practices.

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received any reports from any regulatory or investigative authorities within the United Kingdom or overseas after the Libor affair suggesting manipulation of other benchmarks; and, if so, how many investigations have been opened.

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to upgrade the United Kingdom market investigation authorities in the light of the revised European Union Markets Abuse Directive.

Lord Deighton: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for the investigation of possible misconduct and subsequent enforcement proceedings, including in relation to possible manipulation of benchmarks.   The FCA is operationally independent from Government and it would therefore not be appropriate to comment on any ongoing investigations.   The Government supports the update to the European market abuse framework. Strengthening the framework, and its application across Member States, is important to tackle market abuse effectively across the EU and ensure investor confidence.   The EU Market Abuse Regulation, which was adopted in April 2014, grants competent authorities considerable investigatory powers and will be directly applicable from July 2016.   The UK will not opt into the new EU Criminal Sanctions Market Abuse Directive (CSMAD) but instead update the domestic regime in order to retain flexibility in how it develops its regime in the future. The domestic regime will go at least as far as CSMAD.   In June 2014, the Chancellor announced the Fair & Effective Markets Review jointly led by HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority. The Review is focusing on the wholesale markets where the bulk of concerns about misconduct have arisen. The Government looks forward to the Review’s final recommendations in June 2015.

Government Departments: Procurement

Baroness Seccombe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 13 May 2014 (WA 473–74), whether they will place in the Library of the House a breakdown of the 220 individual transactions in 2006–07 in the Economic Secretary to HM Treasury's departmental private office.

Lord Deighton: It would not be appropriate to give specific details of the costs incurred by ministers in pervious administrations.

Financial Services: Pay

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in considering regulators’ recommendations for a seven-year bonus deferral for senior managers in investment banks, they are considering extending such a policy to cover asset managers.

Lord Deighton: The Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority’s proposals for seven-year deferral periods have been developed in response to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Banking Standards. These recommendations were specifically developed in the context of the banking industry and the Government took the decision not to extend them to other sectors.   However, the Financial Conduct Authority already enforces remuneration requirements on asset managers, including deferral, the period of which is designed to align incentives with the activities that the individual is undertaking. Changes to these requirements would be a matter for the independent regulator to decide.

Financial Services: Pay

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in considering regulators’ recommendations for a seven-year bonus deferral for senior managers in investment banks, they are considering establishing a clawback arrangement for all executive committee members and board members for any bonuses and share options granted.

Lord Deighton: Since January 2015, Prudential Regulation Authority rules require the variable pay of staff covered by the Remuneration Code to be subject to clawback for seven years after any award. As material risk takers, Executive Committee members at banks are subject to the Remuneration Code.   As regards other board members, the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority consulted in 2014 to clarify their rules to state that non-executive directors should not receive variable pay in relation to such roles; final rules are forthcoming.

LIBOR

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether full accounts of the money received in penalties for the manipulation of Libor and distributed will be published.

Lord Deighton: The money received in penalties for the manipulation of LIBOR, net of enforcement costs, is accounted for in HMT’s annual report and accounts.   The Chancellor has announced that the funds collected from the LIBOR fines will be given to good causes, specifically military and other uniformed charities. The distribution of this funding is accounted for through the relevant department’s annual report and accounts.

LIBOR

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what records are kept of the way in which distributed money received in penalties for the manipulation of Libor is spent after it is received by charities.

Lord Deighton: The Treasury provides monies allocated as LIBOR fines to the relevant Government Department to administer on its behalf through the normal Estimates process. Full details of all transfers are provided in Departmental accounts.

LIBOR

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what auditing arrangements are made in relation to the money received in penalties for the manipulation of Libor and distributed by HM Treasury.

Lord Deighton: Because the Treasury provides monies allocated as LIBOR fines to the relevant Government Department to administer on its behalf through the normal Estimates process the normal audit rules are in place as prescribed in Managing Public Money. The Accounting Officer for each Department is responsible for ensuring that the monies are distributed, accounted for and audited correctly.

Debts

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 10 February (HL4482), what they consider should be prudent long-term goals for the levels of private sector, general government and financial corporation debt in the United Kingdom as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product.

Lord Deighton: The government monitors very closely the levels of debt in the economy. With regards to general government debt, we recognise that sustained action is needed to tackle the long-term debt challenge. Identifying a specific numerical level of debt above which there are sustainability risks is difficult, but both parties within the coalition agree that once the Government’s supplementary debt target has been met, any future government will need to ensure that debt continues to fall as a percentage of GDP. The government does not have an explicit target for private sector debt or financial corporation debt, but the levels should not threaten financial stability. We are adamant that we will not repeat the mistakes of the past, and that is why we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure that emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

Stocks and Shares: Housing Associations

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to investigate the selling of derivatives by banks to housing associations.

Lord Deighton: Derivative financial products are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).   The FCA is an independent regulator and any investigation would be a decision for the FCA. The Government does not have any involvement in when or how the FCA decides to conduct its investigations.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Woodhead Tunnel

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 10 February (HL4536), whether they will now answer the original question, including why it is necessary to consider the use of the more recent 1950’s rail tunnel for high voltage cables, when overhead lines are used for the remainder of the route.

Baroness Verma: National Grid purchased the 1950s rail tunnel in the 1990s with a view to installing new cables when original cables in the adjacent Victorian Woodhead tunnels needed renewing. National Grid began work on this project in 2007 and it is now complete. The line was originally consented in 1964 and a decision was made to use the Woodhead tunnels so that overhead lines did not cross the highest land on the route.Mitigation of the overhead lines either side of the 1950s tunnel is currently being considered with stakeholders under National Grid’s Visual Impact Provisio:http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/In-your-area/Visual-Impact-Provision/Projects/. TheVisual Impact Provision is a £500m allocation by Ofgem to help reduce the impact of existing transmission lines in English and Welsh Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. An independent process has been established by National Grid, and approved by Ofgem, to consider mitigation of overhead lines in a number of potential locations.

Cabinet Office

Royal Family

Lord Faulkner of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role ministers play in the award or withdrawal of Royal Warrants.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Government Ministers are not involved in the process of awarding or withdrawing warrants. Information on the awarding of warrants can be found on the Royal Household's website.

Elections: Expenditure

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the provision in the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 that only articles which can reasonably be regarded as promoting the electoral success of parties or candidates count as controlled expenditure applies to such online blogs promoting the electoral success of parties or candidates if it does not also apply to articles promoting the electoral success of parties or candidates which appear in publications with a print edition as well as an online presence.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 contains an exemption so that the publication of articles relating to the election in newspapers and periodicals (other than advertisements) do not count towards controlled expenditure and are therefore not subject to spending limits.This Government considers that this exemption applies to online newspapers and periodicals, whether or not they have a print edition, in the same way as for printed newspapers or periodicals. This position was not changed by the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014. As the independent regulator, it is the Electoral Commission’s role to determine how the exemption applies in practice.

Electoral Register: Young People

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the findings of the Electoral Commission on electoral registers published on 24 February and the of the Office for National Statistics published on 26 February, what is (1) the number, and (2) the proportion, of (a) 16 and 17 year-olds, and (b) 18–24 year-olds in each local authority and parliamentary register; whether they will now instruct electoral registration officers to work directly with their local schools and colleges; and what plans they have to ensure that eligible attainers are registered to vote in advance of the 2015 General Election registration deadline on 20 April.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Office for National Statistics published data on the number of attainers on each local authority and parliamentary register in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 26 February. It can be found here:http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/electoral-statistics-for-england--wales-and-northern-ireland/2014/stb---2014-ewni-electoral-statistics.html It is not however possible to identify the proportion of 16 and 17 year olds and 18 to 24 year olds who have registered as attainers as age information is not captured on electoral registers. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are best placed to understand their local circumstances and every ERO in Great Britain has received a share of £6.8 million funding to encourage voter registration, including among young people and attainers. In addition, the Government has awarded funding to a number of organisations to promote voter registration. This includes the NUS and other student groups, UK Youth and the British Youth Council, all of which will deliver activity targeted at attainers and young people. The Electoral Commission’s awareness campaign for the General Election also includes a specific focus on attainers.  There have been over 1.2 million applications to register to vote from 16-24 year olds since June and over 100,000 applications from attainers since 1 December.

Pancreatic Cancer

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the five-year survival rates for cancer of the pancreas in (1) 1983, (2) 1993, (3) 2003, and (4) 2013; and how those figures compare with those for the United States and Germany.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UK Statistics Authority Reply
(PDF Document, 154.32 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Broadband: Scotland

The Duke of Montrose: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks made by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 25 February, what proportion of the costs of meeting the target on the expansion of broadband in Scotland by the end of 2017 will be met by the Government; and how much it is expected to cost.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Scottish Government estimate the total capital cost for the current Scotland projects under phase 1 of the Superfast Broadband Programme will be £412 million. The UK Government is contributing nearly £101 million, the Scottish Government will contribute nearly £63 million, Scottish local authorities will contribute over £102 million and the European Union over £20 million towards the total. The balance of just over £126 million is expected to be contributed by the supplier BT. The UK Government has allocated a further £21 million for phase 2 delivery within Scotland. This funding is subject to procurement and confirmation of local match funding.

Broadband: Suffolk

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which parishes of the county of Suffolk are still without broadband services of at least two megabits per second; and when they expect to complete the coverage of each of those parishes.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Data on areas of Suffolk with broadband speeds below two megabits per second is held by Suffolk County Council, although this will be subject to change as broadband roll-out plans develop. The Government is developing plans to enable all premises which have speeds below two megabits per second to have access to speeds above this level by the end of 2015. More information on broadband coverage and speeds at local levels is available at the following Ofcom website: http://infrastructure.ofcom.org.uk/

Department of Health

NHS: Innovation

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage innovation by National Health Service clinicians.

Earl Howe: Innovation Health and Wealth, published in 2011, set out a number of steps to encourage innovation which the National Health Service is pursuing. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Implementation Collaborative supports faster and more consistent access to NICE recommended medicines, treatments and technologies. Academic Health Science Networks are working with their local health systems to support the effective adoption of innovation.   Building on this, we are working closely with NHS England, industry and other key stakeholders to develop the Innovation Scorecard to make it a more effective tool for identifying unjustified variation in uptake of innovative treatments in the NHS. Following the vision set out in the Five Year Forward View, we are also working with NHS England to support the development of ‘test beds’, which will offer the opportunity to test technologies at scale in a real world setting.   We have also announced the Innovative Medicines and Medical Technologies review, which will make recommendations to accelerate the overall pathway, including adoption and diffusion of innovation in the NHS.

Social Services: Pay

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve pay for care staff.

Earl Howe: High quality, compassionate care for the most vulnerable in society can only be delivered by a well-trained, motivated and appropriately remunerated workforce.   Although rates of pay are set by individual employers and thus outside the immediate control of Government, we recognise that pay can be a particular concern for care workers. The first priority in this area is to ensure that all care workers receive the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to which they are entitled.   Enforcement of NMW is led by HM Revenue and Customs. Under a new scheme that came into effect from October 2013, it is now simpler to name and shame employers who break the law, and the first social care providers have now been named.   Further joint work between the Department of Health, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and HMRC is also underway to encourage and support care sector workers who have been underpaid to make a complaint. This will be backed up by further, targeted enforcement by HMRC, clamping down on businesses who break the law.   Meanwhile, under the new Care Act, local authorities will be required to have regard to fostering an effective workforce with appropriate capabilities – which will include taking account of workers’ pay and conditions. Statutory guidance to the Act states explicitly that local authorities should have evidence to assure themselves that care providers they contract with are paying at least the national minimum wage; and that those found to be recently in breach of the law, should be excluded from the contract tendering process.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Jane Ellison, on 8 January 2014 (HC Deb, col 267–8W), what sort of abnormalities might be anticipated in offspring conceived via pronuclear transfer or spindle-chromosomal complex transfer that would need to be assessed in follow-up studies; what sample size for either embryos transferred or neonates would need to be evaluated before deciding that too many abnormalities were observed; how the general public would be informed of the number of abortions that might take place under statutory ground E of the Abortion Act 1967 specifically following attempts at either pronuclear transfer or spindle-chromosomal complex transfer; and how many abnormalities would need to be seen before the programme was stopped.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the 2011, 2013, and 2014 reports: Scientific review of the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease through assisted conception have not found evidence that use of pronuclear transfer (PNT) or maternal spindle transfer (MST) results in abnormalities.   However, the HFEA would expect that the health of all babies born following PNT and MST would be assessed at birth and in long term follow-up studies and that these assessments would identify any abnormalities where they are present.   The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015 will not come into force until 29 October 2015. The HFEA will announce its proposals for the regulation, monitoring and reporting of mitochondrial donation treatment cycles in due course.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 11 February (HL Deb, col 1243), what consideration both they and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have given to the patent applications by Scott Webster Ballinger, Danny R. Welch, Robert Allen Kesterson and Larry W. Johnson (US20090328241, US 13/360,344) and by Shoukhrat M. Mitalipov (US20120036591, US 13/265,326); and what is their estimation of the potential impact of such patent applications on the promotion of economic growth by licensing the first clinical applications in the United Kingdom of (1) pronuclear transfer, and (2) spindle-chromosomal complex transfer.

Earl Howe: Neither the Government nor the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has made any such assessment.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Lord Patel of Bradford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the findings in the Evaluation of the Drugs and Alcohol Recovery Payment by Results Pilot Programme (Interim Summary Report June 2014, National Drug Evidence Centre, University of Manchester) in respect of the impact of payment by results on practitioners and service users (1) what is their policy on reducing the number of service users prescribed opioid substitution medication; (2) what advice they give to local authority public health directorates on the use of the payment-by-result target for successful completions of drug treatment; (3) what regulatory framework covers local authority public health directorates' drug and alcohol commissioning and service delivery; and (4) who is responsible for regulation of the local authority commissioning of drug and alcohol provision.

Earl Howe: The Drug and Alcohol Recovery Payment by Results (PbR) pilots ran from April 2012 to March 2014. Their purpose was to develop and test the PbR approach to contracting for drug and alcohol services.   As with services in other parts of the country, providers in the eight PbR pilot sites were expected to take account of the United Kingdom guidelines on the Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence and the relevant guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Services that prescribe opioid substitute treatment must be registered with the regulator, the Care Quality Commission.   The Government’s 2010 Drug Strategy is ambitious to support more people to recover from dependence on drugs and alcohol, acknowledging that all treatments with a sound evidence base, including opioid substitution medication, have a role to play depending on the clinical circumstances of individual cases.   Pending the publication in 2015 of the independent evaluation of the pilot programme, in August 2014 the Department published a note on lessons learnt. This document was intended for commissioners and providers who are considering using a PbR method and highlights the key areas where additional attention may need to be focussed to optimise the PbR approach.   Local Authority Circular LAC(DH)(2014)2, Public Health Ring-fenced Grant Conditions – 2015-16, dated 17 December 2014, stipulates at paragraph 20 that “in commissioning services using funds from this grant, local authorities should also ensure that appropriate clinical governance arrangements are put in place.” The circular contains a link to a public health commissioning template which emphasises the importance of good clinical practice.   The structures for coordinating local Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and the provision of services are set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Should there be a complaint which cannot be resolved locally about a local authority’s discharge of its functions, an individual can refer the matter to the Local Government Ombudsman.